IRC was developed during the summer of by Jarkko Oikarinen. At the time, Jarkko was a graduate student at the University of Oulu, Finland. IRC is considered the predecessor to the multiple chat and instant messaging systems with which we communicate in the modern world. He was responsible for a Sun Unix server that the department ran on a public bulletin board system named OuluBox. It was first deployed on OuluBox at the end of August The first IRC server was named tolsun.
IRC is an excellent example of the ability of ideas and tools to quickly spread using the power afforded by the Internet. Before the advent of the World Wide Web, the existence of email and IRC were two of the prime reasons that an individual would want to connect to the Internet.
Once IRC became popular enough that it began attracting more than 10 users, Oikarinen asked friends at universities in south Finland to run IRC servers in order to spread the processing load. The IRC software made its way to various U. An IRC link remained functional for a week after television and radio broadcasts were halted. Here we see a clear example of the power of alternative means of communication to subvert authoritarian or overly restrictive regimes.
Once you connect to a server you can query it to see what channels are available. There are also web-based channel search tools that can direct you to a network that is running the channel you want to access.
Searching by keyword is possible to discover new channels that you might want to visit. When you log into an IRC network you need to choose a nickname or nick for the session.
This allows you to bypass the server and the two of you act as your own. Locating this type of chat protocol is nearly impossible unless someone is specifically monitoring your line. This is rarely necessary, but if you are that paranoid, it is available. If you take no action, the transfer will start and you will begin downloading the file from their computer. There is no limit to file size whatsoever when using DCC. Send 1kB, or GB, size does not matter, so long as you remain connected to Gozer or whoever your friend is, we're using "Gozer" as an example.
Now you will no longer have to choose "accept" every time they send you a file, and there is never any limit to how many transfers you can take at once, however, you will be taking files into the default folder. To change this to your desktop for ease of explanation , have Chatzilla open and use the toolbar.
Go to "global settings" and select the DCC tab.. For reliability, it is best to take one at a time though. No other person will ever see this message, and it will show up in a new tab on the chatzilla client only for the recipient of the message, often with a system-sound to alert the recipient.
This is a way to talk privately during a chat with several people and only talk to one person, like whispering to them, but noone can ever know that you did or what you said except who you said it to. Experiment with it to see how it works. When you are the first user to show up to a channel, you are automatically given "operator status", meaning you are the operator of that channel, or the administrator of that channel.
This gives you special privileges that other users cannot use without that status. It is considered polite to give operator status to people you expect to be there with you, so that they can have administrative control of the channel as well. What good is "operator status" to the two of you? A message can be appended to show a reason why you kicked them, but is not necessary. If another operator banned a user, you can unban them and override their ban as a fellow operator.
Operators can also set the topic for the conversation. The topic will change to this after this command is given, if you have operator status. Try it and see by looking at the top of the window If you wish to not have operator status, you can deop yourself as well, as an operator has control over privileges of all users, including themselves.
An amusing way to leave as an operator is to kick yourself. Kick yourself for foul language even when you haven't used any, or for any reason. It's an inside-joke amongst veteran IRC users.
It takes practice, but not long before you are perfect with these commands More fun you can have with IRC is using colors and bold when you type, to emphasise what you are saying, and how you say it.
Experimentation with this will show how this can be useful in context. Some of you may wish to type in color or otherwise customise your text.
To do so, you need to prefix the text with the appropriate symbol. The result is "I want money man", but only "want money" is underlined in that text. Anything bracketed in asterisks will be shown as bold type, but the asterisks will show. Below I show basic text tagging and it's effect. Many commands can be combined for the desired effect.
Note that you do not need to space between tags and the text as a "text tag" called a "switch" for the client to interpret everything following as the prescribed format until terminated, as seen above.
Spaces between the text and the switches are displayed, so if you spaced the tags here, the space would carry the same underline. I keep switches in order, but as long as you close them all, the effect is turned-off.
The order is not specific, just as long as each switch is closed as it was opened, or it remains until closed. Clients will vary, but chatzilla tends to return to default for the next line. Type the same line above and then add text beyond that. The effects will continue, but without the underline effect What you see is what you are sending, and another chatzilla client will show the same thing to who you are sending to.
By now, you should be learning something, and are becoming more proficient in computing, even if you are not aware of it. You can get really good with IRC and show-off your skills once you learn how to control it, and some of this should help you pick-up on these tricks. Now you should be able to use Chatzilla with some proficiency, as well as many other IRC clients.
Stop using IE, and start using Firefox, and get the chatzilla extension no, it's not even on the level of "difficulty", it's child's-play, so you have no excuse , and when you accept the best, you will be above the rest and learn IRC to discover the real IM client that has been around long before YIM or MSN or any other. Use the best, and never need the rest All you need to do now is to convert your friends, and show them that you know the real thing from the fake.
You don't need to install some unstable application just to connect to this network, you just use the best browser for your internet and your chat-system is right there. If you still think Internet-Explorer is better than Firefox, and refuse to change, forget this Instructables project, and invest heavily in anti-virus programs and everything else you can, and be sure to have a technician on-call to solve your IE-related problems because you choose to be incorrigible.
I'll try to feel sorry for you that your 3. If you are conservative in software, you automatically fail, so take pride in your failure of self-designed obsolescence and your inability to accept something above the status-quo, because IRC is simply not for you. IRC requires a minimal level of intelligence, so if you think you are going to do this from Internet explorer, just forget it, this project is light-years from your capability or potential skill level.
The rest of you are already chatting on IRC now, so enjoy, and welcome to the high-tech world in high-tech format. There are many IRC networks, both large, with tens of thousands of users and channels, and small. Each IRC network is separate from and independent of other networks and is run by its own set of owners and administrators. IRC clients are generally command-based, which means that a client reads in the commands that you type into it and performs the appropriate actions.
An IRC server holds information about the channels and people on IRC, as well as other pieces of information, and is also responsible for routing your messages to other users. You have to download and install an IRC client. You can even use IRC through websites. If you are using a desktop operating system, such as Windows, you will normally download the installer for the IRC client, run it, and it will install it for you. After installation, you can run the IRC client. If you are using a mobile operating system, such as Android or iOS, you can install it through your App store.
The first time you run your IRC client, you will have to fill in some information about yourself. Your client will have a section where you enter your name, email address, and nickname. You will also need to choose the IRC network or server that you want to connect to. Most IRC clients come with a default list of networks, so you can just choose one. However, you can also add a server manually, in which case you will need to know details such as the server's address and port.
You can usually connect to any server on a network and you should be fine. Some networks may have policies that limit connections to some servers based on geographical closeness, in which case you may need to try different server on a network to find one that works for you. In general, the closer a server is the better. In general, the port number to use is Some, but not all, servers listen to other ports most commonly in the range. When in doubt, select port DALnet usually uses port Some servers also support secure connections via SSL on certain ports, such as or Normally, you do not need a password to use an IRC server.
Most servers allow anonymous access. If you do not have a password for an IRC server, leave the password entry field blank. If you are prompted for a login or password and you don't know what to type, try another server.
You do not have to give your real name. Normally, IRC users enter a greeting, or something witty, as their name. On IRC, you are known to others by a nickname. You are free to choose any nickname you like, up to 9 characters long. It is very common to find people that use the same nickname and you may be asked to switch nicknames to avoid confusion.
Some networks allow you to register a nickname with a password, so that only you can use it. Your IP Address is the address of your connection on the internet. There are two types of addresses: IPv4 and IPv6.
IPv4 addresses are more common and consist of four numbers separated by periods, such as An IPv6 address consists of eight hexadecimal digits separated by colons, such as dbaa2e Your Local Host name is the name your internet provider has assigned to your internet connection. It can be a single word or a name equivalent to your IP Address. If you see any of these error messages, your should first try connecting to other servers. If you cannot connect to any IRC servers at all, on any network, the issue may be due to your internet connection.
If you can connect to other servers, the issue may just be with the specific server you are trying to connect to. Servers sometimes stop working for a short time, for example, if they are being upgraded or restarted. Sometimes, however, they may stop working if the owners no longer want to maintain them. In that case, you would need to find a new IRC network to use. You also need to make sure that the server address you are connecting to is correct.
For example, the server address for the EFnet network is irc. If you mis-typed it, it would not longer be valid and would not work. This can occur if you try to connect to a server but you have not filled in all of the details correctly in the client's setup window. You may need to enter something in both your real name and email address fields. This can occur if your IRC client has not logged onto the server yet.
Sometimes, if you try to perform an action, such as joining a channel, before a client has completely logged on, you will see this error. You either need to wait until the logon completes or disconnect and try connecting again. These mean that you are banned from using a server. Bans can be per-network or per-server. Banning is in one of three forms:.
Only you can be responsible for this if you are using a shared account or dynamic IP addressing, this obviously does not apply. The responsibility lies completely with you and you have no one to complain to. Chances are, you committed no wrongdoing. Try using another machine on the network if you have one and seeing if you can use that particular IRC server.
This almost certainly is not your fault. Chances of getting the server-ban lifted are slim. Try using another server. Be polite in explaining your case. Most servers can only accommodate a certain number of IRC users.
This is why they sometimes refuse access to you and close the link at startup. Since servers reserve connections to local users you are more often refused when you are far from the server you're trying to connect to. Some servers restrict access to local users and might therefore close or not even accept a connection from you.
Bad behavior by you or your friends, customers from your provider, or an entire country may also be restricted from using certain servers.
In each case, an attempt to connect will result in a response similar to the following:. Getting disconnected with the "No authorization" message occurs due to a similar reason.
The server does not give your site access. A server administrator can choose which sites can connect to his server via "I-lines" called invitation lines. Many servers only I-line local sites so you should try to use a server close to you. In this case, you would have to ask your corporate network managers for access if you are behind a firewall. When you have restricted access you cannot be channel operator, you cannot do mode changes and you cannot change nickname but you can chat normally.
Read more about this here. Being restricted has nothing to do with what IRC client you use. The first step is to get a list of the channels on the network to which you have connected. In this example " hack" is a channel name. Following the channel name you will see the number of people on it as well as its topic.
Most channel names start with a but there are other special channel prefixes. A channel is a room on IRC where group conversations occur. People can join the same channel and see each other. Depending on its topic and time of the day a channel can be VERY crowded. Channels can also be quite chaotic, or calm. Channels can be open to everyone but also closed and private and only open to friends. On the large IRC networks there might be tens of thousands of channels. On smaller networks, there may be a handful.
Channels on IRC are dynamic in the sense that anyone can create a new channel, and a channel disappears when the last person on it leaves. Once you get to the channel, you will see people talking.
It will probably look like this:. You will often come in during the middle of a conversation. Unless you're familiar with the channel you may want to sit and watch it for a minute or two to see what the conversation is about. Nnote that often the channel name has nothing to do with the conversation that goes on on the channel.
In the channel window that opens when you join a channel you'll see an alphabetical list of people that are on the channel on the right side of the window. Some of them have a in front of their name to point out they are the channel operators.
A Channel Operator is someone who has control over a specific channel. A Channel Operator can also decide if control is shared or not. The first person to join the channel automatically receives Channel Operator status.
The forward slash is the default command character. Commands on IRC are not case sensitive. Most IRC clients come with an extensive help file that describes the commands it supports. In the list you will see all channels see below , except for those that are secret, with their number of users and the topic. The displayed list may be quite long, so you can limit it using flags.
Upon entering a channel, you are given useful details about it: a list of users talking in that channel, channel mode settings and the topic. Joining a channel does not cause you to leave your previous channel and you can normally join as many channels as your connection can handle or that the IRC server allows. Everyone who wants to talk to you sees this name.
Nicknames are limited to 9 characters max. If your intended nickname clashes with someone else's as you enter IRC, you will not be able to enter until you change it to something else. Duplicate nicknames are not allowed; this is enforced by the IRC servers. Under some circumstances, two individuals may temporarily have the same nick but once discovered, both of them will be killed; a nick collision kill. Sets a message explaining that you are not currently paying attention to IRC.
Using AWAY with no parameters marks you as no longer being away. If you want a friend to join your channel you can invite them. This is required if your channel is 'invite only'.
Well, you guessed it, if there is a way to invite someone on a channel, there is also the ability to KICK someone out of it. For example ,if a person is behaving in an offensive manner by annoying people or flooding the channel with unwanted information, they can be forced out of the channel.
Only 'channel operators' are privileged to use this command. Channels have topics, that indicate the current topic of conversation. At times, you may want to send a description of what you are doing or how you are feeling or just anything concerning you on the current channel or in a query. On most clients these conversations will be handled by separate window. If somebody else sends you a message or that person replies to your message a query window icon will pop up informing you somebody wants to talk to you personally.
In Kreet's screen an icon will pop up with the message you typed; "This message can be read by you only. If you cannot wait for a reply for someone to message you to open a private window you can use the query command to force your client to open a private conversation window.
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